Printing apparatus.



2 SHEETS-SHEET l Inventor- L Attorney PATENTED JUNE 2'7, 1905.

L. M. TODD,

PRINTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 9, 1904.

| [Hill if! L PATENTED JUNE 27, 1905.

L. M. TODD.

PRINTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY9,1904.

2 SHEETSSHEET 53.

Inventor- ,S g a kc/Attorney 'NITED STATES Patented June 2'7, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

LIRANUS M. TODD, OF ROCHESTER, NEIV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO (Jr. IV. TODD AND COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NE\V YORK, A FIRM.

PRINTING APPARATUS- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 793,249, dated June 27, 1905.

Application filed July 9, 1904. Serial No. 215,890.

To 11 7] wit/ 172 it may concern;

Be it known that I, LIBANUS M. Term, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

The object of my present invention is to provide a device adapted to be employed for marking or impressing upon the face of a check, draft, or other negotiable instrument such characters or markings that will limit the amount for which the instrument may be payable, and more especially to perform this operation in such a manner that the limiting amount is embossed and cut into the surface of the material composing the instrument, so that the ink upon the characters will be absorbed by the disrupted fibers, while an inked impression of the printingfaces of the characters will be made upon the face of the instrument, so as to render fraudulent alteration practically impossible, all as will be hereinafter more fully explained, and pointed out more particularly in the claims hereto an nexed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of a device of this character to which my invention has been applied. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the same, parts being broken away and omitted. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the printing wheel or cylinder, showing a face view of the particular form of printing characters which I employ, on an enlarged scale. Fig. 4 is a view in section, showing a portion of the platen and the cooperating type characters which are carried by the printing-wheel. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view, on an enlarged scale, showing the cooperative action of the type characters and the corresponding portion of the platen upon the check or instrument interposed between them and Fig. 6 illustrates the appearance of an impression received from the characters when impressed upon the instrument.

The same numerals designate similar parts in the several figures.

In general construction and operation the device to which my present invention is applied is similar to that shown in my prior application, Serial No. 119,216, liled August 11, 1902, embodying the casing 1, which is provided with a narrow slot or aperture 2 to receive a check, draft, or other instrument, and above this aperture is mounted the printingwhcel 3, which carries upon its periphery the printing or embossing characters, which are arranged in rows and adapted to cooperate with the platen 4, which is preferably located below this aperture 2 and supported by the arms 5, which have their rear ends pivoted in the lugs 6, the type-wheel and platen being snugly fitted against the side walls of the casing to prevent relative motion thereof. Beneath this platen is a lever 7, mounted upon the pivot 8 and provided with the projecting portion 9, which is adapted to engage beneath the platen 4 to operate it toward the type-wheel. At the opposite end of this lever 7 is connected a toggle-link 10, which latter is also pivotally attached to the lower end of the operating-lever 11, which is mounted upon the pivot 12 and provided with the handle portion 13, by means of which it may be manipulated. In proximity to the type-wheel 3 is mounted the ink- .ing device 14, which is preferably movable radially of this wheel to compensate for the irregularities in the surface of the latter and is so located that when it rests between two adjacent rows of characters the characters directly opposite to the platen 4 will be centered in printing position. The operating means for manipulating the type-wheel in the present instance comprises the knob 15, which is located exterior to the casing and is perforated centrally to receive the securingscrew 16, which is threaded into an extension 17 upon the arbor 18 of the printingwheel and rests behind a plunger 19, which has a conical head 20 thereon arranged to engage the balls 21 to displace them radially through the aperture 22 of the arbor and engage in the recesses 23, which are formed in the hub of the type-wheel to receive them. This screw 16 is also utilized to secure the indicator-dirl 24 in position upon the arbor 18 in order that the desired characters upon the type-wheel may be readily brought into op erative position.

It is in conjunction with a device similar to that above described to which I have applied the present embodiment of my invention, and it consists in its present form in providing the printing-faces of the characters with a plurality of alternatelyarranged ridges and depressions which extend circumferentially of the type wheel, the opposite sides of each ridge being relatively inclined or disposed angularly for the purpose of forming a sharp cutting edge upon each ridge, the inclined sides of these ridges also serving as flat printing-surfaces for receiving and transferring the ink in a manner that will presently appear. The platen 4, which is mounted to cooperate with the printing characters, is preferably composed of hard material and has an impression-surface formed to correspond with that of the printing characters, and as these characters of the type-wheel may be best formed of a stereotype or electrotype plate or some other comparatively soft metal I prefer to first form the printing characters of the type-wheel in the usual mannerth.at is, with plain smooth printing-faces but each time that a row of printing characters is brought successively into position the platen, with its peculiarly-formed impressionsurface,is impressed against the line of printing characters with sufficient pressure so that the sharpen ed ridges thereon will produce an exact counter-die or corresponding impression-surface upon the printing-faces of each of the rows of printing characters, andas relative endwise motion of the type-wheel and platen is effectually avoided by the accurate fitting of these parts within the casing or support it will be understood that the alternatelyarranged ridges and depressions in the printing-face of each character or row of characters will accurately register with those of the platen. Moreover, a material advantage is secured by forming these ridges of the printing characters so as to extend circumferentially of the type-wheel in planes parallel to the plane of rotation thereof, for the reason that the printing-faces of the type characters will accurately register with the impression surface of the platen at every degree of rota tion of the wheel, thereby avoiding the necessity of precisely centering the type characters opposite the platen in order to secureaproper register of the ridges and depressions of the respective parts, as would be necessary should these ridges extend spirally or in any direction other than circumferentially of the wheel.

In order to obtain the best results in this method of printing, I prefer to employ the italic or sloping style of type characters upon the type-wheel, for the reason that in such a case the circumferentially-arranged ribs or ridges on the printing-faces of these character will extend angularly rather than parallel with themain lines of the type, and the impression obtained from type of this kind will be made up of a great number of lines which extend angularly across its face, causing the impression to stand out boldly.

. The operation of the printing device hereinbefore described may be briefly explained as follows: Assuming that the check or other instrument to be marked has been inserted in the slot 2 of the casing and rests between the wheel and platen, pressure maybe applied by the operator upon the handle 13 of the lever 11, which will cause the latter to draw the toggle-link 10 backwardly, and as the latter moves into position between the pivot 12 and the end of the lever 7 it will cause the projecting portions 9 of the latter to move upwardly about the pivot 8, and thereby move the platen 4 upwardly toward the type wheel, and as the platen approaches the latter it will impress the check or other instrument firmly against the characters of the wheel, causing the contiguous portions of the paper or other material of which the instrument is composed to be pressed alternately into the depressed and raised portions of the type characters and platen. As the edges of the ribs or ridges are sharp, those portions of the instrument operated upon will be thus subjected to a cutting action in those portions which are subjected to the action of the type characters, and by employing an inking device 14, by means of which these characters are supplied with a suitable ink, it will be understood that the ink thus supplied to these characters will become impregnated by the absorbent parts of the material which are exposed by the cuts formed by the ridges, and as the ink cannot be removed nor obliterated without mutilating the face of the instru ment to a considerable degree it will be obvious that subsequent alteration of the impression or marking is practically impossible, and as the desired marking or impression is printed in ink in substantially solid characters upon the face of the instrument by the flat printing-surfaces at the sides of the ridges the impression or marking upon the instrument may be readily observed.

In order to secure a perfect register between the platen and the type-wheel and to provide an improved device for securing the ,type-wheel and its shaft, I prefer to employ the locking device that I have shown applied to the printing apparatus to which mypresent invention is shown applied, for it enables the type-wheel to be readily inserted within the casing, and the shaft or arbor 18, carrying the locking-balls or other devices 21, resting in the radial aperture 22, may be passed through the wheel until the balls are opposite the apertures or recesses 23, which may be formed in the hub of the wheel, the threaded plunger 1%) being screwed into the end of the shaft until its conical head 20 engages the balls 21 to force them into the apertures or recesses 23, formed in the wheel to receive them, such a procedure, which may be entirely performed from the exterior of the easing, causing the type-wheel and its shaft to be locked together. The annular ring 25, which rests in an annular groove 26 of the shaft, may be now brought into position and th adjusting-screws 27, which are threaded into the adjacent wall of the casing, may be adjusted so that one of the lmbs of the typewheel fits snugly against its adjacent abutment formed by the -asing, such a construction being employed to prevent endwise motion of the type-wheel that would tend to destroy the register between the correspondingly-fm'med surfaces of the printing charac ters and the platen.

I claim as my inventionl. in a printing apparatus, the coinbination with a revoluble type-wheel provided with. printing characters upon its periphery, the impression-surfaces of the characters being provided with a plurality of circumferentially-arrangcd grooves, of a platen mounted to cooperate with the characters of the type-wheel having projections arranged to register with the grooves formed thereon.

2. In a printing apparatus, the combination with a revolublc type-wheel having printing characters formed upon its periphcry, the llllpltSSh)H-SUIfflCGS of the characters being provided with a plurality o f grooves or depressions ar anged circumferentially of the wheel and parallel to the plane of rotation thereof. and an inking device for supplying ink to the characters, of a platen mounted to cooperate with the characters having proections arranged to register with the grooves of the characters.

33. In a printing apparatus, the combination with the type-support provided with printing characters the. impression-s11rfaces of which are made up of a plurality of pa allel ridges having continuous ink-receiving surfaces between them, and an inking device for supplying ink to the cha'acters, of a platen arranged to coopc ate with said char acters having projecting portions arranged to register with the ink-receiving surfaces and depressions arranged to receive the ridges of the printing characters.

-t. In a printing apparatus, the combination with the type-support provided with printing clnuaeters the i1npression-surfaces of which are formed with a plurality 0t elongated ridges the adjacent sides of which are inclined to form flat ink-receiving surfaces,

and an inking device for supplying ink to the characters, of a platen cor'iperating with said characters having an impressionsurface formed to receive the ridges of the printing characters, and having projections adapted to register with the inclined printing-surfaces of the characters.

5. In a printing appa 'atus, the combination with the type-support provided with printing characters the printing-sur'faces of which are formed with a series of alternatelyarranged ridges and depressions, and an ink ing device for supplying ink to the surfaces of the characters, of a platen cooperating with the charzuzters having an impressionsurface formed to correspond with the impression-surfaces of the characters.

(5. In a printing apparatus, the combination with a revoluble type-wlnel provided with a plurality of printing characters which are arranged slantingly to the plane of rotation of the wheel, the impression-s1u'faccs of the characters having a pln ality of grooves formed therein and arranged circumferentially ot' the wheel, and an inking device for supplying ink to the cha 'acters, of a platen adapted to coi'iperate with. the said characters having projections thereon arranged to register with the grooves of the characters.

7. In a printing apparatus, the combination with the type-wheel having italic orslanting printing cha 'acters arranged upon its periphery, the faces of the characters being provided with a plurality of grooves extending circumferentially of the wheel and lying in planes par; llel to the plane of rotation thereof, of a platen adapted to cooperate with the characters having an imprcssion surfacc corresponding to that of the characters.

8. In a printing apparatus, the combination with the revoluble type-wheel having the printing characters arranged on its periphery, the faces of said characters being provided with a pluralityol' circum'ferentially-arranged grooves, of a platen mounted to cooperate with the characters of the type-wheel having its impression-surface formed to correspond with that of the cha actors, and n1 ans for retaining the cooperating portions of the typewheel and platen in register.

9. In a device of the cha 'acter described, the combination with the casing or sup wit, and the shaft or arbor mounted therein having the transverse aperture and the longitudinal aperture extending thereto, of the wheel or revolublc member mounted upon the shaft having recesses or apertures arranged to leg ister with the t 'ansvcrse aperture of the shaft, locking devices located in the transverse aperture of the shaft, and a plunger adapted to enter the longitudinal aperture of the shaft to move the locking devices into locking engagement with the recesses of the revolublc member.

10. In a device of the character described,

the combination with the casing or support, and the shaft mounted therein having the transverse aperture and the longitudinal aperture extending thereto, of a revoluble member mounted upon the shaft having recesses arranged to register with the transverse aperture of the shaft, locking-balls located in the transverse aperture of the shaft and arranged to cooperate with the recesses of the revoluble member to lock the latter to the shaft, and a plunger threaded in the longitudinal aperture of the shaft and having inclined portions arranged to cooperate with the locking-balls to move them into locking position.

11. In a device of the character described,

the combination with a casing, and a shaft revolubly mounted therein carrying a portion adapted to abut against the casing to prevent endwise motion of the shaft, and a roove formed in the circumference of the 

